Don't Brainstorm With A Blank Slate

When you're brainstorming, you often want to just let ideas come out however they decide to do so. That usually doesn't get you very far though. 99U points out it's often best to come up with some type of constraint or random goal.

We've talked about setting restrictions before, but the idea here is more about directing those ideas. If you try to just come up with an idea with a blank slate, you have no plan or direction and you're not going to get anywhere. Constraints are an easy way to do this:

What if your idea only worked between 2:13 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. each day? What if your mobile app could only show one sentence and one button at a time... What can we do with that? It's normally a lot more than you think.

So, the next time you're trying to come up with an idea, focus just a little bit more and see what happens.

Only logged in users may vote for comments!

Get Permalink

Trending Stories Right Now

Spring is nearly upon us, which means the return of the dreaded Magpie season. Those ruthless swooping demons are extremely aggressive during this time of year as they defend their nests with gusto around gardens, schoolyards and parks. So is it legal to kill one of these angry birds before it pecks an eye out?

The KFC Zinger Double Down King is an "all meat" burger comprising cheese, bacon and a beef patty sandwiched between two KFC breast fillets. In other words, it takes the OTT concept of the KFC Double and elevates it to ludicrous proportions.
Tragically, the Double Down King isn't available in Australia, but don't let that stop you from sampling its colon-clogging delights - as the following taste test demonstrates, it's possible to build your own. The results are spectacular... and probably a bit lethal.